Automatic feeding, sewing, cutting and stacking apparatus



Dec. 14, 1965 H. JACOBS 3,223,059

AUTOMATIC FEEDING, SEWING, CUTTING AND STAGKING APPARATUS Filed March 1,1962 4 Sheets-Sheet l (D ID INVENTOR.

N I HERBERT JACOBS N O I ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 14, 1965 H. JACOBS 3,223,059

AUTOMATIC FEEDING, SEWING, CUTTING AND STACKING APPARATUS Filed March 1,1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VEN TOR.

Eyi HERBERT JACOBS ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 14, 1965 H. JACOBS 3,223,059

AUTOMATIC FEEDING, SEWING, CUTTING AND STACKING APPARATUS Filed March 1,1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

HERBERT JACOBS ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 14, 1965 H. JACOBS 3,223,059

AUTOMATIC FEEDING, SEWING, CUTTING AND STACKING APPARATUS Filed March 1,1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 HO V.

INVENTOR.

HERBERT JACOBS WWW ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 6 3,223,059 AUTOMATIC FEEDING, SEWING, CUTTING ANDSTACKIN G APPARATUS I Herbert Jacobs, 223 Stoneway Lane, Merton Station,Pa. Filed Mar. 1, 1962, Ser. No. 176,593 6 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) Thisinvention relates to a sewing apparatus and has as its objective theprovision of the automatic sewmg machine assembly.

With the rise of foreign competition in the textile field, it has becomeincumbent upon domestic manufacturers to increase productivity in orderto overcome a financially unfavorable wage differential. Therefore, manyattempts have been made in the past years to automate the various sewingprocesses. Such prior attempts have been successful to some degree, butthe ultimate goal, namely, to achieve a sewing apparatus which is fullyautomatic is yet unachieved.

It is, accordingly, a prime objective of the present mvention to providea sewing assembly which is substantially fully automatic.

A further object of the present invention is to provlde an automaticsewing machine with complementary feeding means, cutting means andstacking means.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide anautomatic sewing machine and an automatic cutting device which aresynchronized with respect to each other.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to as sociate timingmeans with respect to the solenoid-actuated cutting means in order toincrease the useful life of the solenoid which actuates the cuttingmeans.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novelfeeder belt assembly in conjunction with the feeding means.

The foregoing as well as other objectives of the invention are achievedby providing an automatic sewing apparatus which basically comprises afeeder station, a sewing station, a cutting station and a stackingstation.

In the specific embodiment to be detailed hereinafter, a continuousbinding is automatically sewn to a piece of shoulder goods, but itshould be understood that many other sewing variations will be obviousto those skilled in the art.

The feeding station basically comprises a platform for holding thestacked shoulder goods, and a reciprocating feeder belt assemblyincluding a feeding belt for moving the shoulder goods, one by one, onto a conveyor belt to the sewing machine.

The sewing machine is automatically activated by photosensitive meanstied in with a solenoid-switch arrangement. The cutting means are alsoactivated by photosensitive means. A timer is associated with thecutting means in order to extend the useful life of the cutter solenoidwhich ac-tuates the cutting means.

A stacking station is provided to automatically stack the product afterthe sewing and cutting operations have been completed.

Automatic stopping controls are associated with both the feeder platformand the stacking means for emergency purposes as when the feed supply isexhausted. Also, the feeder belt assembly has a safety stop associatedtherewith should the feeder belt break.

Finally, a warning light is provided to become operative should thefeeder means fail to feed goods to the sewing machine.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Patented Dec. 14, 1965 FIG. 1 is a partly diagrammatic side elevationalview of the entire apparatus embodying the present inv n io FIG. 2 is anenlarged side elevational view of the feeding station, showing inphantom an intermediate operative position of the feeder belt assembly;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3 showingthe feeder belt picking up a piece f shoulder goods;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the feeder beltdischarging the shoulder goods;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed view of a chain associated with thefeeder bel-t assembly;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the lines 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the sewing station taken fromone side thereof;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 8, but taken from the otherside thereof;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the cutting station;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged Perspective view of the stacking station;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a typical completed piece of work; and

FIG. 13 is a wiring diagram showing the association of the timer withthe cutter solenoid.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawingswherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, anautomatic sewing apparatus embodying the present invention is generallyshown at 10 in FIG. 1.

The automatic sewing apparatus basically comprises a feeder station 12,a sewing station 14, a cutting station 16 and a stacking station 18.

The feeder station 12 is shown in considerable detail in FIGS. 2 to 5and basically comprises a platform 26, a feeder belt assembly 22 andactuating means 24.

The shoulder goods 26 to be sewn are stacked upon the platform 20 whichis adjustable to present the topmost piece of goods at a desirable fixedheight with respect to the feeder belt assembly 22 as will be discussed1n detail hereinafter. The feeder belt assembly 22 is adapted to move ina cycle (see the phantom position of FIG. 2).

Such cyclical movement causes a corresponding actuation of gearing (notshown) which is associated with the standards 28 of the platform 20mounted in support 27. This overall arrangement is well known in theprinting and duplicating machine arts and has the net effect of movmgthe platform 20 upwardly a distance corresponding to the thickness ofone of the pieces of shoulder goods 26 so that the uppermost piece ofshoulder goods is always at the same height with respect to the feederbelt assembly 22. Attention is referred to United States Patents No1,963,694, No. 2,083,296, and Re. 20,581.

The feeder belt assembly 22 is mounted on frame 30 of apparatus 10 andis best shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. The feeder belt assembly basicallycomprises a pair of ratchet wheels 32 and 34 which are rotativelymounted respectrvely on arms 36 and 38. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 thelower ends of the arms 36 and 38 are scoured to a pivotable block 40Whose movement will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter. Theupper ends of the arms 36 and 38 are bent in a U-shaped configuration tofurnish respectively parallel spaced tabs 42 and 44. An axle 46 issuspended between arm 36 and tab 42 and an axle 48 is suspended betweenarm 38 and tab 44. The wheel 32 is rotatively mounted on axle 46 and thewheel 34 is rotatively mounted on axle 48. Appropriate bearings orspacers may be used where necessary. An endless chain 50 extends aboutperipheral portions of the wheels 32 and 34 for purposes which will bediscussed hereinafter.

It is to be noted that a reel 52 is rotatively mounted on axle 46 so asto be coaxial with wheel 32. In a similar way, a reel 54 is coax-iallymounted on axle 48. Adhesive means, such as, adhesive tape 56 or otheradhesive means is provided in roll form on one of the reels 52 or 54, isunwound therefrom and is then rewound on the other of the reels 52 or 54for purposes as will be discussed hereinafter.

The adhesive tape 56 plays an important function in the feeding of thestacked pieces 26 from the platform 20 toward the sewing machine as willnow be described. As previously mentioned, the feeder belt assembly 22is adapted to move in a cycle as indicated by the phantom position ofFIG. 2. A similar movement or cycle is shown in the United States PatentNo. 1,963,694, No. 2,083,296, and Re. 20,581.

The foregoing movement is caused by the action of actuating means 24including cam 58 upon a cam follower 60 (FIG. 2). The cam 58 is causedto rock back and forth between the full line and phantom position ofFIG. 2 by means of a crank 62 generally illustrated in FIG. 1. The crank62 is appropriately connected to a motor (not shown) The cam follower 60is mounted on a lever 64 which has one end 66 pivoted at 68. The freeend 70 of the lever 64 has an appropriately secured rod 72 risingtherefrom.

Secured to the upper end of rod 72 is a horizontal bar 74 which extendsacross the width of the entire apparatus as indicated in FIG. 3 and isheld in appropriate supports. As shown in FIG. 3, an arcuate cam 76 issecured to the bar 74 and has a free end which rests or is biased torest on a second horizontal bar 78 which acts as a follower for the cam76 as will be discussed hereinafter.

The pivotable block 40, to which the arms 36 and 38 are secured, issecured to the bar 74 so that the rocking movement of the bar 74 betweenthe full line and phantom position of FIG. 2 is conveyed to the block 40and is in turn conveyed to the entire feeder belt assembly as indicatedin FIG. 2.

When the cam 58 rocks between the full line and phantom position of FIG.2, the cam follower 60 and its associated lever 64 are forced upwardlyat one end to the phantom position of FIG. 2. This in turn forces therod 72 upwardly to the phantom position of FIG. 2. Because the cam 76 isurged against the bar 78, the upward movement of the bar 74 is guidedthereby to the phantom position of FIG. 2. Such upward movement givesrise to a gentle tilting action of the bar 74. Inasmuch as the block 40is secured to the bar 74, the block 40 is likewise induced to tilt. Thiscauses a counterclockwise movement of the arms 36 and 38 as viewed inFIG. 2 to the phantom position of FIG. 2.

It, thus, follows that the adhesive means 56 extending from reels 52 and54 undergo a similar movement as illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 4and 5. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the adhesive tape 56 is threaded aboutfeeding means, such as, a feeder foot 80 which is secured to the block40. Thus, when the block 40 is moved from the position of FIG. 4 to theposition of FIG. 5, the foot 80 is thrust forwardly. Because theadhesive means 56 positioned about the foot 80 was in contact with thetopmost piece 82 of shoulder goods 26, said topmost sheet 82 is carriedforward with the foot 80, as shown in FIG. 5, to rollers 84 and 86. Therollers then pull the piece of goods 82 away from the foot 80 onto idlerroller 88 and then down an inclined rolling guideway 90 toward sewingstation 14.

When the cam 58 returns to the full line position of FIG. 2, the foot 80returns to the position of FIG. 4 against a new topmost piece of goods.Where desired, the foot 80 may be spring biased or floatingly heldagainst the topmost piece of goods. Belts 92 may extend down the inclinein order to facilitate the transport of the shoulder goods to the sewingarea.

In order that a fresh adhesive surface may be presented by adhesive tape56 after each cycle of foot '80, there is provided on bar 78, as bestshown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a pin 94 having a wedge-shaped tip 96. With eachslight upward movement of the platform 20 upon the feeding of a piece ofshoulder goods, gearing associated with the means for raising theplatform 20 as previously discussed, cause the bar 78 to pivotcounterclockwise against the link of the chain 50 to move the chain 50the length of a link. The wedge-shape of the tip 96 enables the pin 94to slip past the link which has been moved and to enter a new link. Suchmovement of the chain 40 causes a corresponding rotation of wheels 32and 34. This in turn induces a corresponding rotation of reels 52 and 54which in turn causes a slight movement of the adhesive tape 56. Thus, afresh adhesive surface isfipresented to the uppermost piece of theshoulder goods 2 It is preferred that the movement of the adhesive tape56 to provide a fresh adhesive surface as previously described be timedto occur after the topmost sheet 82 has been withdrawn from the foot 80and before the foot 89 returns to the position of FIG. 4 in contact witha new uppermost sheet 26.

When the adhesive tape has been completely transferred from one of thewheels 52 or 54 to the other wheel, either a new roll of adhesive tapemay be employed or the wound roll of tape may be replaced to its initialposition to be used again. Also, an automatically reversing mechanismsuch as that employed in a typewriter, may be employed to eliminate theneed for replacing therewound roll of tape to its initial position.

Of course, the adhesive tape 56 is merely illustrative of one type ofcarrying means to move the stacked pieces of shoulder goods 26 or othermaterial, one by one, toward the sewing station 14. The adhesive tapemay be replaced by other holding means, such as, mechanical tacks or asuction device. In addition, other timed or sequential feeding deviceswill be apparent to those skilled in the art.

It is to be further noted that the tension applied to adhesive tape 56as it is being held and moved between the reels 52 and 54, holds aswitch (not shown) in a closed position. Should the adhesive meansbreak, such a switch would automatically open to stop further progressof the machine inasmuch as a breaking of the adhesive tape 56 willprevent the feeder foot 80 from carrying out its normal function.

As previously discussed, the pieces of shoulder goods 26 are moved, oneby one, toward the sewing station 14. Towards this end, appropriaterollers or conveyors are provided along the sewing station platform 98.

The details of the sewing station 14 are best shown in FIGS. 1, 8 and 9.The sewing machine 100 is of a type well known to the art and, as shownin FIG. 8, includes a pair of spaced sewing needles 102 and 104 whichstitch a relative narrow binding 106 to a piece of shoulder goods 26.The path of travel of the binding 106 and the shoulder goods 26 isindicated by the arrows 108 and 110. As shown in FIG. 1, the binding 106is held in roll form 112 supported by standard 114. The binding 106 isled to a converging former and placer 116 which positions the binding106 in desired relationship with respect to a piece of shoulder goods 26as shown in FIG. 8.

The piece of goods 26 is carried past the sewing needle by virtue of theaction of a disk 118 (FIG. 9) which is positioned immediately before thesewing needles 102 and 104. The disk 118 includes a finger 120 whichurges the goods 26 in the direction of arrow 122 as the disk 118 isrotated. The disk 118 is secured to a shaft 124, the other end of whichis secured to a bracket 126. A gear 128 is secured on the shaft 124 asshown in FIG. 9 and is operatively engaged by a worm gear 130 secured toa shaft 132 which is driven by a motor (not shown). Thus, rotation ofthe shaft 132 causes a corresponding rotation of gear 128 which in turncauses a corresponding rotation of disk 118 to carry a piece of goods 26to sewing needles 102 and 104.

It should be noted that the binding 106 is merely drawn from roll form112 by virtue of the action of disk 118 and the other rollers which movethe shoulder goods through the sewing station. Of course, driving meansmay be associated with the binding 106 if so desired.

As shown schematically in FIG. 1, a light source 134 is positionedbeneath a clear plastic plate 136. As indicated in FIG. 8, the shouldergoods 26 pass over the clear plastic plate 136 immediately beforearriving at needles 102 and 104. The light source 134, accordingly,shines through the clear plastic plate 136 and is intercepted byphotosensitive cells 138 and 140 positioned above plate 136. Bothphotosensitive cells 138 and 140 are of the microminiature type, aremanufactured by the General Electric Company of Schenectady, New York,and are identified as part number 3S7505PH106.

The photosensitive cell 138 is of the light decreasing type and is,accordingly, activated when the beam of light 142 emanating from lightsource 134 is cut off by virtue of the passage of a piece of shouldergoods 26.

The photosensitive cell 140 is of the light increasing type and isactivated whenever it is struck by the beam of light 142. Thephotosensitive cell 138 actuates the sewing machine and thephotosensitive cell 140 actuates the cutter as will be discussedhereinafter.

Thus, when a piece of goods 26 passes over transparent plate 136, lightbeam 142 no longer strikes photosensitive cell 138. As thephotosensitive cell 138 is of the light decreasing type, it is therebyactivated to close a switch in the sewing machine circuit. Therefore,whenever the beam of light beam 142 is cut off by a piece of goods 26advancing toward the sewing machine, the sewing machine is automaticallyturned on and will begin to sew the binding 106 to the piece of shouldergoods 26.

After the binding 106 has been sewn to a piece of goods 26, the sewnpiece of goods is carried on by means of rollers, such as opposedrollers 144 and 146 toward the cutting station 16. Of course, once apiece of shoulder goods 26 has entirely passed the transparent plate136, the beam of light 142 again strikes the photosensitive cell 138which automatically turns the sewing machine 01f. However, the sewingmachine will still sew the trailing portion of the piece of goods 26 byvirtue of its rotational inertia. Furthermore, the disk 118 rotates atall times and so will feed another piece of goods 26 to the sewing areaas soon as the same is received from the feeding station 12.

Although, rolls beneath the sewn goods 26 continue to turn to move thegoods 26 toward the cutting station 16, the fact that the binding 106 isa continuous web extending back to a point before the sewing machine andthe fact that the binding is held at the sewing machine by the needles102 and 104, prevents travel of the sewn shoulder goods 26 toward thecutting station 16 whenever the sewing machine is turned off. Of course,as soon as the sewing machine is turned on, the goods will againcontinue their travel toward the cutting station.

The cutting station 16 is detailed in FIG. and comprises a base 150 andan extending cutting block 152 with a knife receiving slot 154 and adownwardly tapering receiving ramp 156. A knife 158 is pivotally held insupport 150 by means of a cylindrical bar 160 passing through acomplementary opening in the base 150 and knife 158. A coil spring 162has one end secured to the knife 158 and has the other end secured tothe base 150. The function of the coil spring 162 is to hold the knifein the open position of FIG. 10. The knife 158 .is also held in positionby means of an upwardly extending rod 164 which is fixedly engaged in ahorizontal support bar 166. The bar 166 is secured at 168 to avertically movable platen 170. The platen 170 is movably spaced from thebase by means of guide rods 172 and 174 secured in base 150 whichslidably pass therethrough. A coil spring 176 is provided about the rod174 in order to urge the platen 170 upwardly and thereby assist the coilspring 162 in holding the knife 158 in the open position of FIG. 10.Also depending downwardly from the platen 170 is a solenoid plunger 178which extends into solenoid 180 which is held on the base 150 by meansof bracket 182 and housing 184.

It is, thus, seen that when solenoid 180 is actuated, the plunger 178 ispulled into the solenoid 180 in a down- .ward direction. This in turnforces the platen 170 in a downward direction as guided by the bars 172and 174 against the force of coil spring 176. As the platen 170 travelsdownwardly, the horizontal support bar 166 is carried with it. This inturn causes the knife 158 to pivot downwardly about pin against theforce of spring 162. Thus, when the platen has reached its lowermostposition, the knife 158 is positioned in the slot 154 and has cutthrough a piece of shoulder goods 26 with binding 106 if the same hadbeen positioned over the slot 154. The cut goods are then carried towardstacking station 18 by means of rollers, such as rollers 186, andassociated belts 188, 190 and 192 in the direction of arrow 192. Whensolenoid is no longer actuated, the plate 170 immediately returns to itsupper position of FIG. 10 under the force of springs 162 and 176 therebyopening knife 158.

As previously discussed, photosensitive cell 140 is of the lightincreasing type and is connected to actuate the solenoid 180 of theknife. Thus, whenever the transparent plate 136 is not covered by apiece of goods 26, the light beam 142 may strike the photosensitive cell140 and thereby cause the knife 158 to cut or to hold the same downuntil the beam of light 142 is covered by another piece of advancinggoods 26. With such an arrangement, the solenoid would be actuated for aconsiderable proportion of the time of machine operation inasmuch asplate 136 is uncovered for a considerable period of time and, thus,might require frequent replacement.

In order to lengthen the usable life of the solenoid and also to havethe knife held in the open position most of the time to-allow a newpiece of goods 26 to pass thereunder into cutting position, a timer 196is inserted in the knife solenoid circuit as shown in FIG. 13. As shownin FIG. 13, the solenoid 180 has a contact 198 associated therewithwhich will close a microswitch 200. This closes the circuit back totimer 196 which in turn permits relay 202 to move to the off positionthereby causing the circuit leading to relay 204 to be opened.

The relay 202 is manufactured by the General Electric Company and isidentified as part number 3S7505GP108A1. The relay 204 is an all-purposerelay manufactured by the Guardian Electric Company. Moreover, all ofthe solenoids used in connection with the present invention aremanufactured by the Guardian Electric Company and are identified as partnumber 18A.C.1171.

The timer 196 is of a type well known in the field and possesses anindicator band 206 which may be set at a predetermined time intervalfrom the twelve oclock position of FIG. 13. When the timer has been setand then activated by an appropriate electrical signal, the indicatorhand 206 will move to the zero reading of twelve oclock. When the Zeroreading is attained, the indicator hand 206 is automatically reset toits previous setting.

As shown in FIG. 13, when solenoid 180 is actuated, contact 198 causesmicroswitch 200 to be thrown thereby closing the circuit to the timer196 which in turn causes relay 202 to move to the off position therebyopening the circuit through relay 204 from photosensitive cell 140.

Thus, the solenoid 180 will now not be actuated even though a beam oflight 142 is being intercepted by photosensitive cell 140.

As soon as the microswitch 200 was closed, the closing of the circuitleading therefrom to the timer caused the indicator hand 206 of thetimer 196 to move from its setting to the zero position. A preferredsetting of the indicator hand 206 is for 15 seconds for reasons whichwill be related hereinafter. When the indicator hand 206 reaches thezero setting, two things happen. First, the timer automatically resetsthe indicator hand 206 at its previous setting of 15 seconds. Second,relay 202 is turned on thereby closing the circuit to solenoid 180. Itis to be noted that the timer 196 is manufactured by the IndustrialTimer Corp; of Newark, New Jersey, and is identified as type P-1M, 115v., 60 cyc., A10 I4040.

By this time, however, a piece of shoulder goods 26 is now coveringlight source 134 thereby preventing the light beam 142 from beingintercepted by photosensitive cell 140. Hence, although the solenoidcircuit is again closed by the turning on of relay 202, the solenoid 180will not be actuated until light strikes the photosensitive cell 140.When this happens, the solenoid is actuated, the contact 198 strikes themicroswitch 200 to close the timer circuit and thereby reinitiates thecycle which has just been described.

It is to be appreciated that the feeder station 12 should supply a pieceof goods 26 at the transparent plate 136 immediately prior to the timewhen the indicator hand 206 reaches the zero setting. Unless, a piece ofgoods 26 is covering the light source 134, the solenoid will be actuatedas soon as the indicator hand 206 reaches the zero setting. This mayoccur whenever the feeding station 12 for any reason whatsoever fails tofeed the shoulder goods 26 in proper sequence toward the sewing machine100. When such failure occurs, the solenoid 180 will be actuated at theinstant the indicator hand 206 reaches the zero position. At such time,the timer will try to reset the indicator hand 206 to the 15-secondreading, but it will be unable to do so because the contact 198immediately strikes the microswitch 200 to cause the indicator hand tomove toward the Zero position. Thus, the circuit to the solenoid will berepeatedly opened and closed. Such malfunction will be indicated to theoperator by means of a light 207, which will flash during suchmalfunction as it has been placed in parallel with the solenoid circuit,

It is to be further noted as previously discussed that a piece ofshoulder goods 26 should cover the light source 134 immediately beforethe indicator hand 206 reaches the zero setting. Thus, the feederstation 12 must feed a piece of shoulder goods in a time sequence, suchas every 15 seconds, as determined by the setting on the timer 196.Thus, if the timer 196 is 'set for 15 seconds, the feeder station mustfeed a piece of shoulder goods every 15 seconds. It should also berealized that the setting of the indicator hand 206 additionallyautomatically sets the production of the machine. Hence, a counter maybe associated to the timer 196 in order to record the production of themachine.

As soon as the binding 106, which is associated with a piece of shouldergoods 26, has been cut as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, it is immediatelyfed by rollers 186 and associated belts toward the rollers 208 and 210immediately above the stacking station 18 as indicated in FIG. 11.

The stacking station 18 basically comprises a rotatively mountedhorizontal rod 212 and a solenoid 214 which is adapted to urge thevertical rod 216 associated therewith downwardly. An arcuate finger 218is secured to the upper end of the rod 216 and is also secured at 220 toa point on the circumference of a collar 222 which is in turn fixedlysecured to a horizontal rod 212. Thus, when solenoid 214 is actuated,the vertical rod 216 is urged downwardly thereby causing the arcuatefinger 218 to be pivoted downwardly as shown by arrow 224. As thearcuate finger 218 pivots downwardly it causes the horizontal rod 212 torotate in a clockwise direction in the direction of arrow 224. Thus,spaced parallel fingers 226 which are stacking means and secured to therod 212 are rotated from the vertical position of FIG. 11 to ahorizontal position. In so doing, the piece of sewn goods which isdraped over roller 210 is caused to be stacked in a neat pile.

Such a stacking will not occur until the leading edge of the sewn good-s26 covers light source 228. This occurs when a piece of the sewn goods26 is substantially in a vertical position and is essentially beyond theroller 208. In such a position, the light source 228 is covered and thephotocell 230 sends a signal to the solenoid 214 which causes the rod212 to rotate the fingers 226 to the horizontal position as previouslydiscussed.

Stacker photosensitive cell 230 is manufactured by General ElectricCompany and is identified as part number 3S7505PH105. A relay isemployed in the circuit of the stacker photosensitive cell. This relayis manufactured by the General Electric Company and is identified aspart number 3S7505GP107. A similar relay is em ployed in the sewingmachine circuit.

It is to be noted that emergency controls may be associated with thestacker platform 232. This platform extends upwardly from a lowerplatform 234 which is movable downwardly as the height of the finishedpieces of shoulder goods 26 increases. This is done in order that thetopmost piece of goods may always be a constant height with respect tothe spaced fingers 226 of the stacker assembly. Such constant height isachieved by gearing similar to that employed in the feeding station 12wherein the platform 20 was raised the thickness of a sheet 26 each timea sheet 26 was fed toward the sewing station. At the stacking station18, the platform 232 is lowered the thickness of a finished piece ofgoods 26 each time a new piece of goods 26 is placed thereon. When apredetermined weight of goods has been placed on the platform 232, theaggregate weight thereon is sufiicient to throw a switch which willautomatically stop the machine. Similarly at the feeding station 18,when the predetermined minimum weight is reached such that there issubstantially a total absence of stacked goods 26 to be fed toward thesewing station, a switch will be opened to stop the operation of themachine.

The finished product is shown in perspective in FIG. 12 wherein two rows236 and 238 of stitching have been sewn in order to afiix binding 106 tothe shoulder goods 26.

In operation, the motors which drive the various transport rollers suchas rollers 84, 86, 144, 146', 208 and 210 are turned on. The motor whichdrives the crank 62 is turned on in order to cause the cam 58 to pivotbetween the full line and phantom position of FIG. 2. The cam 58 is soshaped as to present a surface to the cam follower 60 which is firstslowly increasing. Thus, the lever 64 is initially pivoted gently in theclockwise direction and then more rapidly to the phantom position ofFIG. 2. When this occurs, the bar 74 is urged from the position of FIG.4 to the position of FIG. 5. This causes a pivotable block 40 to besimilarly urged resulting in the feeder foot exerting a gentle and thenrapid urging upon adhesive tape 56. The adhesive tape 56 may be ScotchBrand cellophane tape manufactured by the Minnesota Mining andManufacturing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Before the foot 80 is actuated, it presses an area of adhesive tape 56against the topmost piece of goods 26. Thus, when the foot 80 isactuated to step forwardly and upwardly, as viewed in FIG. 5, it carriesthe topmost piece of goods with it. Said topmost piece of goods iscarried forwardly so as to be caught between driven rollers 84 and 86which initiate the journey of the sheet of goods toward the sewingstation 14. Substantially, simultaneously, the platform 20 is movedupwardly the thickness of a piece of goods 26 in order to maintain thetopmost piece of goods on a height identical with the piece of goodswhich was just fed toward the sewing station. At the same time the chain50 is moved the length of a link by means of the action of bar 78 withpin 94. This causes a corresponding movement in adhesive tape 56 whichis drawn between reels 52 and 54 that are mounted respectively coaxiallywith the wheels 32 and 34'. As the piece of goods 26 approaches thesewing machine 100, it covers light source 134 and thereby actuatesphotosensitive cell 138 which is of the light decreasing type andthereby turns the sewing machine on. The binding 106 is fed from rollform 112 through the former 116 to be placed in desired position withrespect to the goods 26 before the same is fed to the needles 102 and104 of the sewing machine.

When the piece of goods 26 has been sewn and has passed entirely beyondthe sewing machine, the light source 134 is no longer covered and, thus,may strike the photosensitive cell 138 to turn off the sewing machine.As soon as a new piece of goods 26 covers the light source 134, thesewing machine will be turned on again and the first piece of goods willbe further advanced toward the cutting station 16.

When the light source 134 strikes the photosensitive cell 140, which isof the light increasing type, the solenoid 180 causes the pivitallypositioned knife 158 to cut the continuous binding sewn to a piece ofgoods 26 as shown in FIG. 10. As the solenoid 180 is actuated, it causesa contact 198 associated therewith to close a microswitch 200 which inturn closes the circuit back to timer 196 and immediately startsindicator hand 206 which is set for seconds to move toward the zeroposition. At the same time, the relay 202 moves to the off positionthereby opening the circuit leading to the photosensitive cell 140.

When the indicator hand 206 reaches the zero setting, two things happen.First, the timer automatically resets the indicator hand 206 at itsprevious setting of 15 seconds. Second, relay 202 is turned on therebyclosing the circuit to solenoid 180.

By this time, however, a piece of shoulder goods 26 covers the lightsource 134 thereby preventing the photosensitive cell 140 from beingactuated. As soon as the light source 136 is permitted to strike thephotosensitive cell 140, the solenoid 180 is actuated to repeat theaforementioned timing cycle while cutting the next piece of goods.

The goods leaving the cutting station are then fed toward rollers 208and 210 immediately above the stacking station 18. When the leading edgeof the sewn goods 26 covers light source 228, photosensitive cell 230sends a signal to the solenoid 214 which causes rod 212 to rotate thefingers 226 to a horizontal position thereby forming the finished goodsinto a stack upon platform 232.

It is to be noted that many other types of goods, such as sleeve goods,may be sewn with the apparatus of the present invention. Also, shouldthe thread leading to the sewing machine 100 be broken, a switch (notshown) associated therewith will automatically open to halt theoperation of the sewing machine.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. An automatic sewing apparatus for performing at least one sewingoperation on a piece of goods, said apparatus comprising automaticfeeding means including reciprocable and forward thrusting feeder footmeans, a sewing station, cutting means and stacking means, said feedingmeans being adapted to feed automatically pieces of goods intermittentlytoward said sewing station in a predetermined sequence, said feedingmeans including a feeder belt assembly including adhesive tape meansadapted to be advanced in a stroke by said reciprocable and forwardthrusting feeder foot means bearing against said goods, means foradvancing said adhesive means after a stroke of said feeder foot mean ina predetermined manner, said sewing station including a sewing machineand means to actuate the sewing machine in response to the feeding ofsaid goods, means adapted to actuate said cutting means in response tothe movement of said goods through said sewing station and means adaptedto actuate said stacking means in response to the movement of said goodsbeyond said cutting means.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said apparatus includes solenoidmeans, and wherein said means to actuate said sewing machine, said meansto actuate said cutting means and said mean to actuate said stackingmeans are at least one photosensitive means operatively associated withsaid solenoid means.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said cutting means includes amicroswitch associated therewith and a contact associated with saidcutting means and adapted to close said microswitch when said cuttingmeans are actuated, a timer circuit associated with said microswitchwhereby the closing of said timer circuit actuates a timer, said timercircuit including said timer, a relay circuit associated with saidtimer, said relay circuit including a relay and said photosensitivemeans for actuating said cutting means, whereby when said timer isactuated by the closing of said timer circuit, said relay is opened fora period of time determined by said timer and whereby when said timerhas operated, said relay is turned on to permit said last-namedphotosensitive means to actuate said cutting means.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said feeding means includes cammeans, said feeder belt assembly includes a pivotable block with saidreciprocable feeder foot means being rocked by said cam means.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said block has supporting armsassociated therewith, each of said arms holding a co-axial ratchet wheeland reel, chain means drivingly supported by said ratchet wheels, saidadhesive means being suspended between said reels and threaded aboutsaid feeder foot means.

6. The invention of claim 5 including drive mean associated with saidchain means whereby when said block is rocked, said feeder foot means iscaused to advance said adhesive means against a piece of said goods andthereafter forwardly toward said sewing station and whereby when saidchain means are moved by said drive means, said adhesive means areadvanced about said reels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 198,622 12/1877Morgenthau 271-33 998,956 7/1911 Coghill 112147 1,910,200 5/1933 Bucking1122 1,963,694 6/ 1934 Davidson 27162 2,418,356 4/ 1947 Kleber 1122l92,483,138 9/1949 Helmer 112219 2,529,161 11/1950 Kelling et a1.250219.12 2,705,466 4/1955 Sargrove 1l2252 2,940,404 6/ 1960 Damon112-10 2,985,122 5/1961 Abel et a1. 1122 3,072,081 1/1963 Milligan et a1112-2 3,083,961 4/1963 Arbter 27133 3,116,705 1/1964 Kosrow 1122 JORDANFRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Examiner.

1. AN AUTOMATIC SEWING APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING AT LEAST ONE SEWINGOPERATION ON A PIECE OF GOODS, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING AUTOMATICFEEDING MEANS INCLUDING RECIPROCABLE AND FORWARD THRUSTING FEEDER FOOTMEANS, A SEWING STATION, CUTTING MEANS AND STACKING MEANS, SAID FEEDINGMEANS BEING ADAPTED TO FEED AUTOMATICALLY PIECES OF GOODS INTERMITTENTLYTOWARD SAID SEWING STATION IN A PREDETERMINED SEQUENCE, SAID FEEDINGMEANS INCLUDING A FEEDER BELT ASSEMBLY INCLUDING ADHESIVE TAPE MEANSADAPTED TO BE ADVANCED IN A STROKE BY SAID RECIPROCABLE AND FORWARDTHRUSTING FEEDER FOOT MEANS BEARING AGAINST SAID GOODS, MEANS FORADVANCING SAID ADHESIVE MEANS AFTER A STROKE OF SAID FEEDER FOOT MEANSIN A PREDETERMINED MANNER, SAID SEWING STATION INCLUDING A SEWINGMACHINE AND MEANS TO ACTUATE THE SEWING MACHINE IN